City council committee to consider adding fee to expand liquor licenses

Submitted: 09/23/2013

Rhinelander - When non-profits host special events in Rhinelander, they fill out an application, and pay $10 to get a temporary liquor license.But if a bar or restaurant wants to do the same, there's no formal application and no fee for expanding an existing liquor license.Rhinelander city council member Alex Young wants to change that. Right now, the council reviews special events on a case-by-case basis.
That uses up committee and city staff time. Young wants to charge a fee because of the cost of that time to the city. He also believes a formal application would simplify the process."We never really had a consistent set of guidelines or consistent set of requirements for people to seek that," Young said. "So that's hopefully something we can address through the permitting process."The city council is trying to make it easier for both non-profits and businesses to host special events.It is working on a special events packet to guide people through the complicated permitting process. Young hopes that will benefit the entire city."Holding events like that is a draw to the area and brings people in, then hopefully they'll move on and patronize some of the businesses in the area and so forth," he said. "And it's just good for the community, to provide events and things for people to do."The Protection of Persons and Property Committee will vote on the liquor license fee Monday night.If it passes, it moves forward to the full council for a vote.